


The First Date

by ForecastingFiction



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, First Date, Fluffy, Happy AU, pricefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-07 08:02:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5449316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForecastingFiction/pseuds/ForecastingFiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Happy AU where Chloe and Arcadia Bay survive. Chloe manages to get Max out on a date and the girls try to move on past the nightmare of a week and figure out their relationship. A fluffy piece of Pricefield.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Golden light peaked threw curtains illuminating motes of dust swirling threw the air. The yellow warmth crept across the bed and soon shined across the sleeping face of the lone resident of the dorm room. After a few attempts at putting off the encroaching day Max finally opened her eyes and took in the morning. Lazily rising from her bed and immediately unleashing a bone tugging stretch, Max glanced at her phone sitting on the small table next to her bed. The small light on the top of the device was blinking in a steady rhythm indicating a message was waiting for her. After scooping it up she awakened it from sleep much like her recent self and checked her messages. Two new messages sat unread, both from Chloe. Opening the message thread with the punk rocker, she checked what was so important it had to be sent so early in the day.

Chloe: Hey mad Max, you up yet?

Then 2 minutes later.

Chloe: Seems not lazybones, guess what? I got a job! It's just doing dishes and shit down at Two Whales but cash is cash rite? Anyways, since I'm gonna be pulling in the big bucks now, I'm picking you up for dinner tonight, my treat. I'll get ya at 6!

Max smiled to herself as she sent a message back.

Max: My, my, how responsible of you. Looking forward to it. :)

Max was startled as her phone immediately vibrated with a response.

Chloe: NO EMOJI!

Max chuckled as she put her phone back down and stood up. She walked to her stereo and flipped it on. A soft acoustic track trickled out of her speakers, filling the room with the soft plucking of guitar strings. Max found herself in front of her window staring out into the morning. The sky was blue with only a small amount of clouds and the sun shone brightly in the sky. She picked a water bottle off of the windowsill and bent down to hydrate her plant Lisa. A couple days had passed since she had last done so and she looked a little parched. Turning her attention to the cage with the small bunny residing in it she picked up a carrot from a tray and offered it to the cute furball. "Don't worry little guy," she cooed, "Kate will be back real soon to take you home."

She glanced at the time, still only 8 am. "Always was an early riser." She mumbled to no one in particular. She flinched when her gaze met the pile of homework that had begun to dominate her desk. A sigh escaped her lips as she went to meet the invading force. "Guess I know what I'm doing today." She plopped into her chair and cracked the first book. "Never was great at science." She frowned at the sight of the unreadable chemical compositions taunting her from the pages and sighed.

Max groaned and dropped her pencil. Her fingers pressed into her temples as she tried to make the equations she had been mindlessly staring at make sense in her mind. She reached across her desk and flicked on the lamp so she could actually read the damn text book. Quickly she paused, her body realizing before her jumbled mind that turning on a light should mean something. It clicked a second later, what time was it? She looked to the small clock in the bottom corner of her laptop, 5:45 pm it read back at her. "Fiddlesticks!" she yelled as she jumped out of her seat. Looking down she realized that she was still in the clothes that she had woken up in. She grabbed her towel and shower supplies before sprinting down the hall to get cleaned up.

She returned to her room 10 minutes later and absentmindedly threw her pajamas into a far corner. She toweled off as quickly as she could and threw on her customary "generic" jeans as Chloe would call them. She froze as she looked into what remained in her closet. It must have been far longer than she had thought since she had last done the laundry. Only two items now remained there. A bright red lacey bra that she had gotten as a gag back in Seattle and a white cotton shirt with a far lower cut than she ever consider wearing. Her phone chose that moment to flash from its resting place on her bed, a message from Chloe proudly proclaimed on its surface.

Chloe: Yo, your resident Max-aholic has arrived. Where you at?

Max gulped as an unfamiliar gnawing grew in the pit of her stomach. She threw on the embarrassing clothes and checked herself in the mirror. A blush quickly sprung across her face as she took in her appearance. It would be nothing radical to what normal people wore, but it was quite the deviation from what Max felt comfortable in. "Well, no time to worry about it now. Nobody's ever accused Chloe of being patient before." She grabbed her phone and camera bag then headed out her door. She half jogged down the hallway to the exit of the dorm. Dana and Juliet were talking outside the former's door as Max made her way passed. When she neared Max heard the chatter between the girls fall silent. Max saw Dana's gaze pass quickly across her choice of output before a sly smirk appeared on her face, she winked as Max met her stare. A blush exploded across her face and she found herself in a sudden hurry to feel the cool air outside. The laughter of two girls could be heard in the hallway as she exited the building.

Once outside the ominous grey sky quickly drew Max's attention, the sun and blue sky from the morning had seemingly passed and rain looked to be in Arcadia Bay's future. Shaking her head in annoyance Max continued on to find Chloe. She found her outside the front of the school, beat-up truck parked in a clear no parking zone with said teenager casually leaned against it one foot up on the bumper staring up into the sky. She was dressed in her typical style though with a few tweaks, the beanie that typically adorned the top of her head was missing and her hair look a little more styled than normal. Underneath her typical black leather jacket she wore a black dress shirt with the top few buttons undone. On her legs she had jeans but they seemed the have a few less tears than normal and her black military style boots appeared to be a little cleaner than Max remembered. As she approached Chloe must have heard the sounds of her footsteps as she brought her attention back from the sky to meet Max's gaze with her own icy blue orbs. Max's breath hitched slightly in her lungs as she did so, she stutter stepped slightly and a grin quickly spread across Chloe's face at her gaffe. The unfamiliar feeling that had confused Max before made its presence known again, as the feeling of butterflies blossomed in her chest. As she neared Chloe popped open the passenger door for her and let out a low whistle as her eyes drank in Max's appearance. "Looking good, Mighty Max. Didn't realize you had anything in that hipster closet outside of hoodies."

Max slid into her seat of the truck too embarrassed to form any sort of understandable sentence. She heard Chloe chuckle lightly at the bright red plastered across her face as her door closed behind her. She watched Chloe stride passed the front of her truck, her fingertips gliding across the hood. Chloe hopped into the driver's seat and with a flick of her wrist the engine rumbled to life. Chloe gunned the truck forward and soon they were speeding back into town. Chloe smirked as she looked back over at her partner in crime, "So, you planning to actually talk tonight or am I gonna have to one woman show this gig?"

Letting out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, Max smiled and looked back at Chloe. "So moneybags Price, where exactly are when headed on this prestigious event? I trust given your recent windfall it'll be only the best."

"Damn right, only the best for my dear Maxine."

"Really Chloe?" Max upturned an eyebrow at the girl. "Hella uncool." Chloe scoffed as she pulled into the parking lot of their destination. Max glanced out the window and let out a resigned huff. "Are we really at Two Whales right now?" She glanced at Chloe with a disbelieving exasperation.

"What? They are the best, it's not like we have a lot of options here." Chloe shrugged off the comment. "Plus we can eat free now."

"I thought we were doing this because of all the cash your rolling in now?"

A daring smile and a gleam of something Max didn't immediately recognize grew in Chloe's eye and the bluenette's gaze broke from her's and leisurely strolled down her body before returning to her gaze. "That might not have been the only reason."

The heat returned in a furious wave across Max's face as she couldn't escape from Chloe's stare. The flush finally seemed to trigger a return to Max's senses and she fumbled to open her door and jumped out the vehicle. "W… well we should get in there then, I'm starving." She laughed nervously trying to hide her embarrassment.

Chloe followed Max out of the truck. "Alright, hippie. Let's go."

Dinner went pretty smoothly for the two girls. After recovering from her initial embarrassment Max felt herself fall into a comfortable rhythm of conversational back and forth with her best friend. She was just finishing the chocolate malt that she had convinced Chloe to get for her as the pitter-patter of rain on the window pane drew her attention. She stared at the picturesque view outside as a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She had always loved the look of rain falling in the nighttime glow of city lights. She pulled out her camera from its ever present bag and snapped a quick picture. As the Polaroid sprung forth from the camera she quickly took hold of it and shook it out.

"Lemme' see." Chloe held out her hand from across the table, Max handed her the photo as the bluenette set money down on the table as a tip for their meal. "Pretty." Chloe mused over the photo before handing it back to its originator. Max spared one last glance before tucking it into her journal and returning everything to her bag. Chloe stood from the table and waited for Max to do the same. As she spared one thought about the photo a sudden realization struck Max, it was raining outside. And it her infinite wisdom Max was wearing a thin white shirt with a very risqué undergarment beneath it. She sucked it a breath with a dread creeping through her bones. This was not going to end well.

She tucked her chin into her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around her midsection as they made their way towards the door. "Ready to make a run for it?"

"Y-ya, I guess." Her halfheartedly mumbled response causes Chloe to raise an eyebrow.

"Don't worry nerd. A little rain never anyone. Well, besides that dumb witch but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you don't have an army of flying monkey's at your disposal." She shrugged as if actually considering the possibility of such a situation. "Ah, well. Let's go." She opened the door and began jogging towards the truck, key already in her hands. Max chased after her, body hunched forward hoping to divert as much of the water as possible from her chest. "Fucking hell." A curse sounded from Chloe as she promptly droped her key after reaching the driver side door. While she fumbled with the keys Max cursed the gods for their obvious bias against life ever going smoothly for her.

Finally Chloe got the cab unlocked and the two girls rushed out of the rain. Max was soaked by the time she finally got inside and closed the door. Laughing Chloe playfully punched Max's shoulder, the impact causing Max's body to tilt towards the older girl. The words that had been forming on Chloe's lips seemed to die in her throat as her gaze is attracted to the bright pop of red showing through Max's shirt. "Whoa Max, didn't know you were such a fan of lace." Pink dusted Chloe's cheeks.

Quickly Max spun away from Chloe to face the window. "It was the only thing in my closet alright."

"Where did you even get that?"

Max rolled her eyes expressively, "It was a dumb gift from some of my friends back in Seattle. They thought I needed to, try a little harder." She accompanied the last part with mocking air quotes. "I've never actually worn it before." Max wound her arms tighter around herself as a small shudder ran across her body. The rain had penetrated to her bones and it chilled more than she anticipated.

Chloe finally snapped her attention away from the image of Max in that bra now burned into her memory when she saw the shiver. Smiling to herself she shrugged her shoulders out of her jacket. "Lean forward."

"Huh?" Instinctively Max followed the command as she looked back inquisitively. Chloe leaned over a wrapped her jacket around the photographer. The jacket was still warm from body heat and Max wormed her way deeper into its confines. The obvious difference in size between the girls worked to her advantage as she could be totally enveloped in the garment.

"Thanks."

"Anytime nerd." Chloe finally shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot heading towards the Price household.

They rode along in a comfortable silence; the soft notes of the rain of the car mixed with the radio turned low creating a soothing backdrop. Attempting to be discrete Max nuzzled deeper into the jacket and inhaled. It smelled of smoke, weed, and body spray which fused into something uniquely Chloe. It intoxicated Max, completely over powering her other sense. She closed her eyes. "If only I could stay like this forever" she thought. Surrounded by Chloe's warmth and scent, she couldn't imagine anything more comfortable.

Unbeknownst to Max, Chloe was watching the apprehensive girl out of the corner of her eye. At first she thought Max so obviously sniffing her jacket was a little strange but the more she did it and the more she seemed to enjoy it a feeling of protectiveness bloomed within her. The knowledge that Max was so comforted by something of hers empowered Chloe, she decided then are there that she would do anything to make sure Max always felt like that around her.

All the lights in the Price household were off by the time the girls made it back from Two Whales. Chloe coasted her truck down the street before stopping in front of her house. With a mischievous glint in her eye Chloe pointed at the latticework leading up to her bedroom window. "We'll go up that," she whispered. "Quieter."

They got out of the car and softly closed the doors behind them. Chloe took the lead and scrambled up to the roof. Max followed behind at a much more conservative pace. Chloe popped the window opened and began sliding into the room. As Max took the last step off the lattice and over the lip of the roof she felt her foot begin to slip on the wet shingles. She lost her balance and she could feel the pull of gravity bringing her towards the ground. Just as the panic threatened to overtake her senses a vice latched onto her forearm and her fall halted. Looking up at a smug smile attempting to veil intense concern; Chloe in one smooth motion lifted Max into her lap and scooted with her into the punk's lair. "You know you weight about as much as like, a bag of feathers or something right."

"Sssh, Chloe. Aren't we supposed to be being quiet?" Max whispered in response.

"Nah, Joyce and step-douche are gone for the night. Just us here."

Max was rendered speechless, "But then why did we have to go through the window?"

The smug grin returned in full force across Chloe's features. "We didn't, but it was hella fun wasn't it?"

"Hella fun?" Max glared at Chloe. She shifted in the taller girl's grasp so she could face her directly. "Hella fun? I almost fell, for absolutely no reason! I mean you could have at least told me I didn't need to be so damn quiet." As she paused to take a breath the closeness between her and Chloe clicked in her head. They were on top of the desk that was situated right on the inside of the window. In the process of meeting Chloe face to face to yell at her Max had ended up straddling her lap. Now their faces were mere inches apart and Max's hands were balled into fists lying on top of Chloe's shoulders. Max's stare into Chloe's eyes softened from annoyance to wonder at how the icy blue depths could be so beautiful. Chloe's lips begin to move and Max felt her gaze shift towards them. She questioned how such a hard girl could have such soft lips. It wasn't until a finger poked her in the forehead that reality returned to Max's attention.

"Huh?" Confusion filled her voice.

Chloe laughed in her ridiculously beautiful way, "I said, see anything you like princess?"

A blush flushed across Max's face and her eyes darted away from Chloe. Her mind desperately fumbled for something not completely awkward to say. Her thought process was cut short when she felt fingers brush across her cheek. Turning back to Chloe she found tenderness in her eyes that Max did not expect, her thoughts were rendered blank at the scene. Max felt paralyzed as Chloe leaned towards her. The contact of lips startled Max, she couldn't believe that Chloe as actually doing this. Sure, they had shared the kiss on a dare after breaking into Blackwell but this felt… different.

Chloe's mouth met hers, while she could feel the passion from the bluenette within the kiss in response Max simply froze up. She couldn't even close her eyes. Chloe recognized her hesitation quickly and pulled away regret pronounced on her face. "I… I'm sorry, I thought you… never mind. It won't happen again." Chloe slid Max off her lap, stood, and strode a few paces across the room arms crossed around herself looking for relief in distance.

Realization at what she had just done stung Max, she slid off the desk. "Chloe, I'm sorry, I just… didn't know what to do. You surprised me."

"Nah, its okay Max. I shouldn't have done that. I should have known you weren't… into that."

"That not it Chloe." She took a step closer and reached out in the punk's direction uncertainly. "I was just… nervous."

Chloe cocked an eyebrow back at her. "Nervous?"

Max began fidgeting with her hands. "Ya, I mean… I don't exactly have a lot of experience with this." Hope filtered back into Chloe's eyes. "Not to mention you're kinda…" Max failed looking for the proper descriptor.

"Damn sexy?" A smirk returned to Chloe's face.

"Something like that." Max replied face hot from the reveal, face turning to avoid Chloe's smirk.

Closing the distance between them Chloe lightly cupped Max's chin and brought her level her gaze up to meet hers. "Perhaps you just need a good teacher."

"Perhaps…" Max bit her lower lip in thought.

Chloe attention bounced between the eyes she loved to get lost in and soft lips she so badly wanted to capture. After a moment however the skittishness bought on by the situation written loudly across Max's countenance sunk in. She knew Max wanted this, but she could also see the nerves. The tension burdening her entire body language. A hunch formed in her mind, Max had just said she didn't have very much experience in this area, if Chloe had to take a guess she wagered that really meant no experience.

She brushed her thumb across Max's lips, a smug satisfaction growing in her chest when Max's breath hitched and her face grew redder in response. "May I?" She questioned softly. Max swallowed noticeably, then after just a moment's hesitation she nodded her head. Chloe leaned down slowly, hoping to keep Max at ease as she reintroduced herself to the magic of those soft smooth lips. She kept the contact light, chaste almost, letting Max get accustomed to the feeling. She felt Max's arms moments ago at her sides reach skyward and wrap around her neck a slight pressure accompanied them as the smaller girl pulled herself higher towards her. Chloe followed suit, placing her hands on Max's waist and pulling her up.

The kiss lasted for a few more precious seconds until Chloe finally pulled away. Max's beautiful eyes opened happiness shining through, "Wowsers."

Chloe chuckled in response, "Figures that'd be your lame response, hippie."

"Shut up, dork!" Max playfully swatted Chloe's shoulder.

Chloe smiled down at the photographer. She hadn't felt this giddy in a long time. Every time she looked at Max something new stuck out to her, a freckle she'd paid no attention to or the way the corner of her lip twitched as something amused her. The more she paid attention the more she fell for the girl, she wondered if Max felt anything similar. The sound of a phone buzzing broke the silence. Both girls glanced at the desk where Max's phone sat, displaying notifying that a new message from Warren had been received.

The mischievousness returned to Chloe's eyes. Trapping Max against her side Chloe held her at arm's length while picking up Max's phone. "Hmm, what could your boy-toy want?"

"Chloe put that down. He's not my boy-toy, he's just a friend."

Chloe laughed while reading the message. "Oh, so he wants you to go with him to the drive-in huh?"

"Yes, now give me the phone back."

"Don't get your so riled up, pipsqueak. I'll give it back, just as soon as I send a quick note. After all you are taken now, might as well let him know he's barking up the wrong tree. Unless you want me to see if he's down to watch us go at it."

"What!? Chloe Elizabeth Price don't you dare."

"Hmm, are you trying to give your captain an order first mate Max?"

Max gulped before straightening up to her full stature, "Yes. Yes I am."

Chloe dropped Max's phone before looking down at the girl, a predatory gleam in her eye. She moved towards Max who took steps back in proportion to hers, all of sudden much more worried about their situation. The stare down continued until Max bumped back into the wall of Chloe's room. Chloe came closer and closer until she was only inches away from her cornered friend. Gently Chloe took Max's hands in hers, softly brushing her thump over the backs of Max's petite hands. Feeling the tension ease out of her best friend, Chloe smirked before suddenly raising Max's hands high above her head and trapping them against the wall. Using her height advantage Chloe held Max high enough up that she was forced to balance on the tips of her toes and was completely at Chloe's mercy.

"And what exactly gave up the idea that that was acceptable?"

Max gulped nervously, mouth suddenly dry and mind blank of retorts. Giver her position Max was forced to crane her neck upwards to meet Chloe's gaze.

"Hmm, no answer huh? The pale white of Max's neck caught Chloe's attention and she let out a low chuckle. She laid a gentle kiss of Max's collarbone, then trailed kisses to and up her neck across her jaw. A quick check to see Max's eyes closed, breath coming in a gaited rhythm, and head turned to allow her greater access confirmed Chloe's suspicions. She leaned to Max's ear and in a breathless whisper, "Are you enjoying this little Maxi?"

It took a moment for Max's uneven response to form of her lips, "Y… yes, very much so."

Chloe smirked once again, "Good girl." Then as suddenly as she had started she released her captive and swiftly distanced herself. She stretched her arms above her head in a mockery of tiredness and loosed a fake yawn. "Well, bout time to hit the hay, huh Maximillion?"

Max stumped for a moment, in took a second to adjust to being on her own feet again and an even longer second her mind to adjust to Chloe not throwing it into madness. "Wait… what happened?"

"What? Did you think I put out on a first date? What kind of girl do you take me for Max?"

Max finally caught on to the playful tone in Chloe's voice. "Funny, I don't recall being asked out on a date."

"Really? Well you must have simply forgotten, as it was obviously implied."

A few minutes later both girls were underneath the covers of Chloe's bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow exhaustion hit Max like a freight train. She struggled to keep her eyes open as she felt Chloe's arm wrap around her waist and pull her back into the older girl's chest. A feeling of total serenity washed over her, she knew nothing could ever hope to match the comfort she felt in Chloe's firm embrace. With consciousness rapidly departing her, she struggled to get to speak once more. "Chloe?"

She heard a hum of approval and felt accompanying vibration cascading out of her protector which she took as a sign to continue. "Tonight was good; I'd like to do it again."

Chloe chuckled in her ear, a soft whisper followed. "We will Max, we will."

As she felt the relaxation and heard the slow of breathing that indicated Max had fallen asleep Chloe couldn't help but smile one last time. For the first time in years she felt truly and totally content. Her best friend was back and things were going better than she could have ever hoped for. Closing her eyes she thought back to the look of wonder in Max's eyes before Chloe had kissed her the first time. Chloe had always known that she loved Max, though it was only now dawning on her just how much. Thinking about her brought a wave of emotions through Chloe love, happiness, protectiveness, not to mention lust. She promised herself then and there that she would do whatever it took to bring her happiness. After all, Max was now her number one priority.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanted to start by saying how blown away I was at the response to this story and say thank you to everyone who left a comment or kudos. I can't express how cool it was for me to see so many people responding to the story so thanks to everyone who came to check out my little corner of life is strange fandom.

Slowly Max awoke from one of the most refreshing slumbers she'd ever experienced. Blinking open her eyes the blurry world around her gradually came into focus. The room was bright from the morning sun filtering in and a refreshing breeze blew in from the window that had been left opened last night. She began her customary morning stretch until a whimper of disapproval caught her off guard. Max instead simply smiled as she considered the utter ridiculousness of the life she was now living. In had been a week since that night at Chloe's. That crazy, wildly unexpected, and ultimately magical night. Since then Chloe had made it official they were now a couple. Looking back Chloe Max's smile grew across her entire face. The punk looked more like a puppy when she was sleeping. Her hair was sprayed messily across her head, she was lightly snoring, her arms were wound tightly across Max's midsection, and her legs were tangled in with Max's. Max tried to pull away from Chloe again only to be greeted repeatedly with the soft whimper, shaking her head Max tried to contain the laughter that was boiling up inside her. As she tried to escape with a little more force the whimper became a low growl and Chloe's eyes peaked open for the first time. Chloe tightened her grip on Max and pulled her closer, "And where exactly do you think you're going, Mad Max?"

"I have to get up, Che."

"Oh, do you now?" Chloe's classic mischievous glint appeared in her eye. "Well we'll see about that." Without warning Chloe jumped on top of Max and began tickling her sides mercilessly. The mirth Max had barley been able to conceal since see woke up burst forth.

"Ch... Chloe…" Max struggled to get any coherent words out between the bouts of laughter. "St… stop… please."

"What was that Max? You'll have to be clearer, I couldn't make that out."

Max flailed about helplessly as she laughed. After a few more seconds that seemed like hours to Max Chloe finally relented her assault. While Max attempted to get her breath back Chloe took a moment to study the girl beneath her. Her brown locks were now strew across her face from her jostling and the light pink shirt with a doe on it that she always wore to bed was rumpled and had been pulled up in the tussle revealing a slice of pale midriff. Learning down Chloe brushed some hair that had fallen across Max's face behind her ear. "You're beautiful when you laugh you, you know that hippie?"

Heat rushed across Max's face and she did all she could to avoid meeting Chloe's gaze. Max slid out from under Chloe and threw her legs over the edge of the bed ready to stand. "Uh huh, if you say so."

With a small frown Chloe reached out and put a hand on Max's shoulder, halting her retreat and sided up next to her. Carefully she gasped Max's chin and brought the girl's eyes to meet her own. "I'm serious Max, you know that don't you? You're the most beautiful person I've ever know."

The blush previously limited to her cheeks fanned out across her entire face, even flaring down her neck. A little smile began tugging at the corner of her lips at Chloe's obviously honest praise. "You sure know how to make a girl blush don't you?"

"Pssh, you know I'm hella smooth Caulfield."

Laughing Max finally was allowed to stand and she stretched her entire body head to toe. Turning back to the bed she noticed that Chloe had stretched back across her bed, with her arm cocked at the elbow holding her head up. The punk was watching Max with a cocky grin across her face. "Man, could I hella get used to watching that first thing in the morning."

Putting her hands on her hips in mock annoyance Max tried to sound exasperated. "Is the gutter all you think about Price?"

Chloe shrugged her shoulders non-committedly. "What can I say Maxi, I have a one track mind." Then in complete avoidance of that one track Chloe took her gaze off Max and instead inspected the dorm room. "You know I've been here almost every night this week and I still don't think I've seen all the random stuff you have thrown across this place." As her gaze passed over the couch across the room Chloe spied the acoustic guitar leaning against it. "Can you actually play that thing?"

After deducing what exactly 'that' was Max looked at the ground shyly, "I mean, I can play along to a few things."

Chloe perked up at the admission, "Will you play some for me?"

"Um, I suppose I could. Keep your expectations in check though."

Max gingerly picked up the instrument and sat down on the couch with it across her lap. Sliding the pick out from its resting place between the strings Max's rested her hand on the frets and hung the other arm over the body of the guitar. Feeling incredibly nervous Max glanced up at Chloe. She responded by giving a small smile and a light nod of encouragement. With a deep breath Max began plucking the strings in a light rhythm. As she played she hummed along with the melody. After a few bars her comfort with playing grew and her notes came off with more confidence and beauty.

Chloe took in the scene with an air of wonder, not only could her girlfriend play guitar, she was really good at it. 'She's so amazing when she stops worrying about other people and just does her own thing. I need to make her see that.' As the tune continued Chloe began to notice that intonation Max used in her humming and a thought occurred to her. "Does this song have lyrics?"

Stopping short on the guitar Max looked to Chloe with surprise. She had actually began to get lost in the music like she did when she played by herself. "Huh?"

Chloe laughed, "I asked if the song has lyrics."

"Oh, yea it does."

"Could you sing them? And before you start don't say you're not good enough to do so."

Sighing Max fiddled with the strings without actually producing any sound. "Yes, I know the lyrics. I… I guess I can sing for you, but no complaining about my inevitable lack of ability."

Chloe sighed at the self-deprecation in the words but quickly Max resumed plucking notes on the guitar where she had left off. Nervously clearing her throat as the next line of words approached she could feel the tension building within her.

We played hide and seek in waterfalls. We were younger, we were younger.

We played hide and seek in waterfalls. We were younger, we were younger.

Someday we will foresee obstacles. Through the blizzard, through the blizzard.

As the final notes of the song faded into the background Max let out a sigh of relief, believing that she had managed to avoid completely embarrassing herself. Hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching Max looked up just in time to for Chloe to reach her seated position and kneel in front of her. "That was awesome, Maxaroni. How could you not tell me you were such a sweet ass musician?"

Max rubbed the back of her neck shyly and looked away at the complement. "It's really not that special."

"Max you are incredibly special, don't ever doubt that."

Max's face flushed at the intimate appraisal. Jumping up she squeezed by Chloe and grabbed her shower supplies from her closet. "Okay, I'm going to go take a shower." She darted out the door before Chloe could protest.

After finishing her shower Max returned to her room. She paused, locked in placed as she stepped into through the threshold. Chloe was sitting in her open windowsill, one leg propped up with her back and head resting on one side. A cigarette hung loosely in her lips with a thin trail of smoke slipping out and twisting past the window and out into the morning air. She was intently studying something held in her hand which was shielded from Max's view by Chloe's popped knee. A simple smile rested on her lips and a look of intrigue resided in her eyes.

"What are you looking at?"

Chloe looked up to meet Max's questioning gaze. With a chuckle and a hint of teasing in her eyes Chloe held up a small journal. Max regarded it for a moment confused before it clicked in her head. She ran across the room to Chloe and attempted to reach across the girl for the book.

"Hey, give that to me."

Chloe laughed heartily at the smaller girls flailing action. "I'm a pirate Mad Max, stealing booty is what I do." She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively, "Being your girlfriend has to come her some benefits after all."

Sighing as a blush covered her face Max realized Chloe wasn't going to give back her journal so she settled on backing up and playfully punching the older girl in the shoulder. Muttering, "Dork" before turning to her closet to pick out some new clothes for the day.

Chloe smiled fondly as Max wandered over to her closet before shaking her head and turning away. Selfishly she would love to watch Max dress but she also knew that would make the other girl incredibly uncomfortable. She wasn't used to having a relationship like the one she shared with Max; it was so much more than anything physical. Chloe was no stranger to the more lustful side of love and while she certainly felt that for Max for perhaps the first time she felt no desire to rush to it. Max's lack of experience in the area needed no clarification and Chloe knew she wanted it to be everything the younger girl could possibly dream of when they got there. Thus she'd wait until Max felt comfortable, until she was ready.

Turning her attention back to the stolen journal she had in her hand Chloe felt a little guilty for not returning it when Max asked but the writing and doodles contained inside entranced her, and she didn't want to stop parsing through them. She tried to reason with herself that Max couldn't me that upset seeing how quickly she gave up trying to retrieving it but her guilty conscience didn't buy in. Sighing she decided she'd look at one more page then stop and give it back, let her girlfriend decide if she wanted to share the rest.

Turning to the next page Chloe was in instant astonishment. The two page spread before her was not what she was expecting to see. Up to this point the journal had simply contained summaries of days in Max's life accompanied with small doodles representing events or ideas that had crossed Max's path. This however was a full two page drawing, less of a sketch as is was far more detailed than the others. It was a drawn representation of the photo she had encouragement Max to take of her dancing on her bed the first day they had come back into contact with each other. The level of intricacy contained within was astonishing; every little detail of her room was represented. All the posters on her walls and knickknacks scattered across horizontal surfaces were there. As she continued to examine all the nooks and crannies she couldn't help but have the feeling that something was off about it. Everything seemed to be in the right place but the overall look seemed incorrect. Finally it struck her, the part that seemed was wrong was her. The incarnation that Max had created simply looked objectively better than she actually did, her hair flowed with a grace it never actually did, her features were better defined, her clothes hung on her body with more beauty, and her expression was more joyous than she ever was. The conflict between the accuracy of the rest of the depiction in the drawing with the obvious improvements made to the representation of herself puzzled her. The evidence of Max's drawing talent was considerable and she literally had photographic documentation to base this drawing off of. Confused, she let out a frustrated sigh in exasperation.

"What's wrong?"

Chloe jerked up surprised, Max had finished dressing and was standing before her clad in her typical jeans, twee graphic shirt, and grey hoodie with a look of questioning on her face.

Chloe held up the journal with the page open, "Why did you draw me like this?"

Frowning Max held out her hand for the journal which Chloe acquiesced too. Max studied the picture for a moment before she looked up, confusing still across her features. "What do you mean?"

Chloe rolled her eyes before standing from her perch on the window. Leaning over Max's shoulder Chloe picked out the various elements of the depiction that had confused her. "These are all wrong, I don't look like that."

Max's eyes flicked from the page in her hands to the girl standing beside her, her frown didn't budge nor did the confusion depart from her eyes. Finally giving up Max met Chloe's gaze and shrugged, "I don't know what you mean Chloe, what is what you look like." Then as she closed the journal and tucked it into her camera bag she added softly, "At least to me you do."

The weight of that sentence struck Chloe like a blow to the heart. 'That was what she looked like to Max?' She glanced towards her girlfriend who was fiddling with the strap of her camera bag. Reaching down Chloe laid her hand softly on Max's cheek who jerked her head up in response. Leaning down Chloe placed a quick kiss on Max's soft lips. "Thank you," she whispered.

Max stumbled back, face aglow. "Just telling the truth." She cleared her throat in an attempt to compose herself. "Well then Ms. I live in my girlfriend's dorm room some of us have actual homework to get to."

Chloe scoffed at that, "As if, I just read your journal remember. I know all you have is that quick photography assignment and I'd like to watch my uber-talented girlfriend do her thing. Besides, you know you love having me around."

Max smiled in response, when Chloe was right Chloe was right. "Alright, I suppose you could come while I take pictures." Adding sarcastic emphasis on suppose. She shifted her weight back and forth trying to build up the courage to try something. With a final breath and an internal note of encouragement Max quickly jumped up onto her toes, placed her hands on Chloe's shoulders and kissed the girl with intensity she didn't know she had in her. Leaning towards Chloe's ear she whispered, "I do love having you here, Che." She then spun on her heel and promptly departed the room.

Chloe was locked in place for a moment before she regained the ability to control her limbs and speech. "Hey, get back here hippie." She charged after her laughing girlfriend, nearly tackling her she caught up halfway down the hallway. Coming up with a payback plan on the fly Chloe put one arm around Max's shoulders and hooked the other behind the girl's knees and hoisted her up bridal style.

Max began playfully shoving at Chloe's shoulder, "Chloe Elizabeth Price put me down this instant."

Chloe paused in the middle on the hallway, head cocked as if deep in thought before finally shaking her head teasingly, "Nah, I don't think so."

"Ugh, fine. Just don't make a scene please."

"What? Me? Make a scene? Never." Then with a cocky smirk Chloe forcefully kicked the exit door open causing it to slam against its hinges at full speed. A couple of students who had congregated on the steps outside spin around at the booming sound. "Out of the way people, Chloe Price and girlfriend Max Caulfield coming through."

Max buried her face in Chloe's chest, completely and totally embarrassed. "Seriously!?" Max whined through Chloe's shirt.

Chloe laughed brightly, "Sorry babe, but I can't let anybody get the wrong idea about you."

Curiously Max peeked up at Chloe, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Chloe's self-confident smirk grew across her face again and she leaned down to whisper to Max. "Gotta let everybody know that you're mine."

Max blushed crimson at that comment and burrowed herself further into Chloe hoping nobody she actually knew saw the scene Chloe was causing, though she knew such a prospect was highly unlikely. Said girl's trademark scent of smoke and cologne relaxed her given their close proximity. It made the rest of the world seem so far away and so unimportant. When they finally reached the beat up truck in the parking lot Chloe managed to shift Max in her arms enough to pop open the passenger side door and let her cargo slide in.

Max sit in her seat missing the warmth and comforting feel of Chloe. She watched the older girl stride confidently in front of the truck over the driver's side door. She slid into the truck and revved up the engine. Throwing the truck into reverse she pulled a quick and probably dangerous three point turn before flying down the road away from Blackwell. As they motored down the ribbon of asphalt Max looked over at Chloe, she was stretched out nonchalantly, her left hand resting on the wheel with her index and middle finger tapping out some indescript rhythm. Her right arm was laid over the backrest of the bench seat of the truck, her hand almost reaching Max. In a rare moment of throwing caution to the wind, Max scooted across the seat until she was leaning against Chloe. She felt Chloe tense behind her which caused her to instantly begin regretting her decision. In a moment longer however Chloe relaxed and brought her arm down around Max pulling her tight against her. Soon after Max felt a quick kiss press against her temple.

With the sun high in the blue sky Max and Chloe arrived at the lighthouse overlooking Arcadia Bay. After disentangling themselves in the truck the girls exited the vehicle and began the trek from the parking lot to the lighthouse overlook.

"So, what exactly is the goal of this little assignment of yours?"

"I'm supposed to take pictures of something that inspires me, a muse so to speak."

"And the lighthouse inspires you?"

Max shrugged in response, "Somewhat, I thought between that, the ocean, and the town I could find some images that would fit the bill."

After arriving at the clearing around the lighthouse Chloe turned to Max and swung her arms around the scene in front of them, "Okay, photo-Max, show me what you got."

Shaking her head in exasperation Max pulled out her trusty retro camera and began moving around the clearing. Chloe did her best puppy impression and following behind her step by step. The third time Chloe asked her when she was going to start taking actual pictures she whirled around on the annoyance, "These things takes time alright, I don't just come out here take a couple random pictures and call it good. I have to get a feel for things, and your pestering is not helping."

For a quiet moment the world seemed to slow to a crawl and Chloe expression slowly morphed from curiosity to pissed off. "Fine then, I'm going to go have a smoke. Let me know when you're done." The girl then harshly stomped off and threw herself onto the bench looking out over the bay.

Max immediately felt bad about her outburst; the annoyance in her words had even surprised her. Neither of them had yelled at each other since their relationship had become more intimate and to be entirely honest Max had never suspected that she would be the first one to do so. She glanced remorsefully at her incensed girlfriend; she had no idea what to say to her to fix this. Chloe wasn't exactly world renown for her ability to forgive and forget. Sighing Max decided that might just be the best the get the pictures she needed and get out of her. Hopefully then they could just put the whole incident behind them.

Returning her inquisitive eye to her surroundings again Max frowned as the same familiar of emptiness returned to her. Truthfully she had no idea what she was going to do for this assignment before this morning, suggesting here had come on a whim when Chloe had decided she was tagging along. Bring her camera to her eye Max hoped that seeing some images on Polaroid might trip something in her and provide some encouragement. Taking successive shots of the lighthouse, bay, and town Max glowered at the results. She felt nothing looking at them, no flash of emotion or spark of significance. They were just images with no weight. Irritated by her stunning lack of artistic ability Max balled the junk photos into a ball and kicked them as far as she could. Arcing in a shockingly effective matter given her total athletic ineptitude the ball sailed past the seated Chloe and rolled over the edge of the cliff. Turning around confused Chloe looked at Max with an inquisitive eyebrow. Seeing the obvious annoyance on the photographers countenance Chloe rose up and moved towards her.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing works," Max growled arms waving in front of her. "None of this is what I need."

"Come on Mad Max, being pissed off is really your thing, that's hella my job in this relationship." Chloe wore a smirk as she plucked the camera out of Max's hand. "Besides aren't you known as like, the queen of selfies or something? Maybe you should use one of those." Miming Max's typical selfie pose Chloe snapped a quick one of herself.

"Really Chloe, a photo of myself as my inspiration? I thought I was the hipster one around here."

Chloe shrugged non-committingly before handing back the camera with photo still in the eject area untouched. "You never know what might help, Maxaroni." She scoffed as she headed back to the bench and took a puff of her cigarette, "Then again who the hell am I to give art advice?"

"Oh… my… dog." Max muttered as she pulled the selfie that Chloe had quickly snapped out of her camera and felt the image shift her entire mindset. Max always thought Chloe was attractive but the image she was looking at now was effortlessly beautiful. Looking at the picture sent a whole spectrum of emotions and thoughts through Max, from her awe and wonder of Chloe's beauty to the underlying anger and rebellion exemplified in Chloe's style. There were so many facets that she wanted to explore, to understand. 'How could I be so blind?' Max pondered. Silently she brought her camera to her eye once again and snapped a shot of Chloe on her bench. Pulling out the poloroide for examination Max was this time struck by the framing of Chloe against the sky. The bright cheery blue of the afternoon contrasted against the darker tones of Chloe's attire so elegantly. A wistful puff of smoke rose from Chloe's vice and danced against the sunlight. Feeling the familiar excitement of a good photo shoot growing within her, Max softly padded a dozen feet or so to her right. This time she lined up a shot Chloe with the backdrop of Arcadia Bay.

Half a dozen photos later Max had come to the conclusion that she was going to need at least one close up shot. Creeping forward Max moved to lean down onto one knee to get a better angle. As was her typical fortune the precise spot she chose for her knee contained a twig just waiting to be snapped. Reacting immediately Max's eyes found the now broken twig and a cringe quickly flooded her features. Looking back towards at Chloe resulted in their gaze meeting and an awkward moment of silence to reign over them.

"So, wanna clue me in on what exactly you're doing there?"

Embarrassment quickly halted any response Max might have had for the question. How was she going to explain this feeling to Chloe? Obviously they were dating now so the girl knew of Max's admiration of her to at least some extent, but to her call the punk her inspiration or her muse seemed like a jump to far.

"Uhh… nothing?"

Chloe smirked before vaulting over the bench and casually walking over to Max. "Huh, is that so?" After reaching Max, Chloe began circling the girl with a calculated air and hand of her chin in thought. "Because you seem a bit… suspicious."

Standing Max felt incredibly self-conscious, "Nope, nothing to be suspicious about here." She tried to laugh though in came out more like far more uncomfortable sounding than she had hoped.

Like a cat Chloe suddenly pounced on Max, using her body weight to hold her down while taking the opportunity to grab the pictures stored in the girls bag. Quickly while Max struggled to find her words to explain the situation Chloe flipped through the photos. After running through them once Chloe's eyes flickered to Max before returning to the images for a second pass, as if trying to find understand a problem she already had the answer to. Finally, satisfied that she'd gotten whatever she was going to get out of staring at the documents in her hands her gaze filtered back to Max. "Why are these all of me?"

Feeling the butterflies she knew this explanation was going to bring on exploded in her gut Max's vision darted around looking for any place to rest that wasn't Chloe. After a few long moments passed, and Max came to terms both with the situation she had now arrived in and the inevitability of this declaration as she met Chloe's gaze.

"Because… because you inspire me…" She all but whispered.

Chloe blinked obviously not fully expecting or accepting those words. "Why?"

The slice of momentary self-doubt in Chloe features at her admission gave sudden boldness to Max. This girl was her everything now and damn it all if she wasn't going to make that clear. "You've been through so much and went through so much of it alone. You faced pain, anger, sadness, and finally I hope some catharsis. When I look at you now I see this strong and impassioned person that simply leaves me in awe. When I'm with you I feel invincible, like I could do anything. Chloe I love you and am inspired by you. I want to be there for you and be better with you. You're my number one priority now."

As Max finished she could see a swirl of emotions warring in Chloe's eyes. Honestly, Max wasn't entirely sure she knew what emotions she was feeling either. That speech was far more than she had intended to say, but neither was any of it false. The courage that had sprung up in her and pushed that statement out hadn't fled her, and while she realized the implications of her admission could play out poorly she didn't regret making it. She did love Chloe, and she wanted her to know it.

Finally the emotions in Chloe's eyes settled and her customary cocky grin returned abet with a notable dusting of pink across her cheeks. "I love you too, hippie."

Leaning down Chloe captured Max's lips with her own. The butterflies that been fluttering within Max ceased their call to nervousness and were replaced with one for passion. As the kiss continued the afternoon sun because evening sun which became plain ole' evening and as the day departed and the stars became the glow illuminating the lighthouse the girls felt a joy and peace lost to them since their days as pirates scrounging through Arcadia Bay looking for adventure and finding each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone for checking out my story. Please drop me a comment if you can, I'd love to hear what everyone's thoughts are on the plot or characterization or just my writing style. Have a great new year and happy reading!

**Author's Note:**

> This my first attempt doing something for Life is Strange. I absolutely loved the game and especially Max and Chloe, their relationship was done so well I knew I had to write something about. Please let me know if you have any comments on my writing or the story in general, I'm just getting into this whole creative writing thing and I love to see reviews. If people are interested I have a second chapter I'm toying around with writing out, If you'd like to see that please let me know. In any case thanks for reading!


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